Western China's millennia-old mummies

Mummification involves drying a body to preserve it long-term

It was a common and respected practice in many ancient societies. The Egyptians perfected the ritual as part of their religious views of death, believing the dead needed to remain physically intact to reach the afterlife. Mummies were common also in ancient China, Mesoamerica, and the Canary Islands.

A history of China's ancient hidden tombs

Like many ancient cultures, the Chinese had a tradition of burying the dead in elaborate tombs, which would serve as both burial places and residences for the deceased. Archaeological evidence of these tombs, including those of former emperors, provides insights into the country's cultural evolution.

Is the Inca maiden the world's best-preserved mummy?

Found atop a snowy peak in the Andes, this teen mummy is at least 500 years old. Watch this four-minute video to see the Inca maiden, a mummy so well-preserved that small details, such as her many braids, are clearly defined.

Bringing dinosaurs back to Mongolia

The Gobi Desert, which crosses Mongolia and China, was a dinosaur hotspot, offering visitors splendid freshwater lakes and a lush, humid climate. These past verdant vast valleys have become the largest dinosaur fossil reservoir in the world, and with that title comes those seeking to remove such items, whether for personal satisfaction or scientific study. This article explains the fight to restore Mongolia's fossil heritage.

Investigating the death of a 5,300-year-old mummy

Authorities generally consider a case to have gone cold once they've run out of leads or the ability to collect and consider new evidence, usually within a few years of the instigating event. Now imagine being a detective charged with investigating a death that happened more than 5,000 years ago. This article details how Alexander Horn, a then-detective inspector, attempted to solve the mystery of Ötzi the Iceman's death.

Scientists are reconstructing ancient smells—including a 3,500-year-old ancient Egyptian mummy

Researchers explain how they have recreated the scent of ancient Egyptian mummies and enabled museum-goers to experience that scent on specialized cards. The exhibit will be at the Royal BC Museum in Canada in June 2026.

Mummification in Ancient Egypt transformed a body into a divine statue

Rather than for preservation, the ritual was a means of turning the biological body into an eternal vessel for the top percent of society. With no way to preserve eyes that would shrivel during dehydration, eye sockets were filled with onions or black and white stones.

The world’s oldest tattoos belong to 'Iceman' Ötzi

Ötzi is the corpse of "the Iceman" found in the Alps along the Italian and Austrian border in 1991. His mummified body was covered with lines and crosses along the “hard-working” areas of his body, signifying their potential application for therapeutic pain management.

Why did the Spanish steal the Inca's mummies?

From inside stone palaces and atop sacred mountaintops, the Inca dead continued to wield incredible power over the living. So much so that the Spanish confiscated them. Read more about the afterlife of these mummies here.

The oldest DNA recovered so far is 2 million years old

The oldest DNA recovered so far is about 2 million years old and has given scientists an unadulterated peek into ancient history. This nine-minute video explores the findings and implications of the DNA, which was pulled from frozen soil in...

What did Ötzi the Iceman have with him when he died?

Ötzi the Iceman and his belongings were remarkably well-preserved by the mountainous ice that usually covered the area near the Italy-Austria border where he was found. This article by the Italian museum that houses Ötzi's body details some of the...

How 'the Iceman' got his tattoos remains a mystery

Ötzi the Iceman, discovered in 1991, is one of the oldest human mummies ever found—and his 61 tattoos remain a mystery. This explainer looks at how researchers believe the tattoos were made, what their placement suggests about ancient medicine and culture, and why we’re still piecing together their true purpose today.

A particle accelerator allowed researchers to noninvasively examine a mummy

The mummy hailed from the Faiyum oasis, where Egyptian and Roman cultures intersected, and was analyzed using the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. The device used high-energy X-rays to probe the material composition of numerous objects embedded deep inside the mummy without damaging its remains.

Without mummies, ancient Egyptians feared their souls would perish

The ancient Egyptians placed major importance on mummification because of their beliefs about the afterlife. They believed a preserved body was essential for the soul’s survival, as it needed a physical form to return to. Without it, they feared the soul would perish.

Who was Ötzi the Iceman?

When Ötzi the Iceman's well-preserved body was pulled from a glacier in 1991, researchers essentially gained anthropological evidence into a 5,300-year-old cold case. This five-minute animated video provides an overview of Ötzi's discovery and...

Explaining the icy mystery of the Dyatlov Pass deaths

A decades-old mystery from Soviet Russia could be explained by studying the science of snow. After nine students died on a hiking trip in the Ural Mountains, Soviet investigators found six had perished from hypothermia while three others died from blunt force trauma. The mystery confounded officials for years, and rumors of yeti attacks and similar theories abounded until researchers proposed a new potential culprit: an avalanche.

Cadaver dogs are helping archaeologists uncover decaying history

Archaeologists are increasingly relying on dogs to help find decaying bodies at burial sites, some of them up to thousands of years old. This is helping archaeologists to detect past remains without ever touching a shovel, which means there's less...

What one seventh-century European teen might have looked like

A 16-year-old girl believed to have traveled from Central Europe to England in the seventh century was buried with rare, expensive jewelry. Her body was found in Cambridge, England in 2012, and analysis revealed what her face likely looked like. See...

An expert recreates the voice of a 3,000-year-old mummy

Ear, nose, and throat expert David Howard discusses how his research team extracts vocal folds from preserved human tissue, which allows them to model the deceased person's larynx. From there, they can create a synthetic voice based on the organ's geometry.

Go inside Queen Meresankh III's tomb

Examine art, explore the structure, and let yourself be transported back 3,000 years to when the granddaughter of the Pharaoh Khufu was buried. The site, first discovered in 1927, is known as a unique underground chapel with preserved depictions of the daily life of ancient Egyptian royals, and features one of the earliest known canopic jars, vessels used to store the organs of mummified individuals.

What (and when) was Imperial China?

China's first dynasty arose in 1600 BCE, according to current archaeological evidence, and its last dynasty fell in 1911. Learn more about Imperial China in this Smithsonian collection of articles and artifacts on each dynasty. According to...

Psychoactive drugs found in 1,000-year-old bag made of fox noses

Archaeologists in Bolivia have uncovered an ancient bag filled with "amazing goodies" that suggests the owner or owners were well-versed in the properties of psychoactive substances and sourced goods from well-established trade routes. This article details the findings, which shed light on how ancient peoples in the region consumed and obtained psychoactive substances.

The mystery of the cucumber, from coiling tendrils to its bitter, mature fruit

Cucumus sativus was first cultivated 3,000 years ago in the Himalaya of India, appearing in ancient Sanskrit hymns in the Hindu tradition. They are typically harvested well before maturation, as their yellow, final fruit is bitter. Their coiling tendrils were so distinct they prompted famed naturalist Charles Darwin to publish one of his lesser-known works, "On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants." Its refreshing coolness inspired cucumber-derived body washes and sprays over millennia.

In China, deepfaking a dead loved one has become a growing industry

Digital replicas of the deceased provide individuals with another way to process grief in a culture with long-standing traditions of communicating with ancestors. The emotional and ethical implications of "digital immortality" are complicated further by cases of actors impersonating deceased relatives during deepfake video calls to hide their deaths.

Five of the strangest cemeteries in the world

Since forever ago, people have been burying the dead in odd ways that are still practiced today. Here's a roundup of some of the strangest burial spots in the world.

When is it OK to dig up the dead?

Human bones tell stories that would otherwise be lost to history. But archaeologists are increasingly confronted with demands to let past generations rest in peace, according to this article.

The unsolved mysteries of Machu Picchu

Who lived there? How did they get all that granite up there? Who were the 100 bodies found buried here, and why did some of them have elongated heads? Explore eight of Machu Picchu’s unanswered questions while scrolling through panoramic, clickable street-view images of the site, in this guide from Google Arts and Culture.

The tradition of the graveyard picnic

This article from Eater shares a fresh perspective on eating amongst the dead. Writer Tiffany Leigh shares the cultural significance of picnicking in cemeteries during the Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, which is celebrated in Chinese culture. Her article explains how Qingming can be a tender and lighthearted event to remember the deceased and how that can differ from modern American attitudes toward death and cemeteries.

The massive sinkholes of China

Parts of China's limestone-rich terrain is fertile ground for massive caves, where some of the world's largest sinkholes are located. Hidden away in dense, lush forests, geologists are frequently discovering new sinkholes to explore. This piece...

Why did this prehistoric culture regularly burn their homes?

This article explores why the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture may have regularly burned their homes. The Cucuteni-Trypillia culture is the oldest known in Europe, dating back to about 5,500 BCE in present-day Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. The...

Rediscovering the Inca Empire

In 1991, anthropologist Johan Reinhard was trekking up the snowy face of a dormant volcano when he came face to face with the mummified remains of a teenager who had been sacrificed to the Incan gods centuries earlier. The story of “Juanita the Ice Maiden” is just one of the riveting tales featured in this four-part series from the popular podcast "History Hit".

Most self-reported claims of exceptional longevity are exaggerated, but read how demographers verify age claims and why some of the original blue zone demographers say blue zone regions are real and worth studying.

What is glacial archaeology?

Melting glaciers continue to reveal archaeological and anthropological evidence previously hidden by solid ice. This article details the newer archaeological field, which was popularized after the 1991 discovery of Ötzi the Iceman. A German couple came across Ötzi as they hiked the Ötzal Alps near the Italy-Austria border. Ötzi was initially believed to be the corpse of an unlucky mountaineer, but further study revealed he had been dead for about 5,300 years.

World's first cloned yak

China has successfully cloned a yak for the first time, using somatic cell cloning and genome selection to enhance traits like strength, health, and disease resistance.

China's tree belt around the Taklamakan Desert has become a carbon sink

Decades of planting trees along the Taklamakan Desert in northwest China (the world's largest shifting-sand desert) have increased vegetation enough to create a measurable carbon sink, absorbing more carbon dioxide than the area emits. The effort demonstrates a key large-scale climate mitigation strategy, though it has raised concerns over water use and long-term sustainability.

Ceren: The Maya Pompeii (sans all the bodies)

The Maya village of Ceren in El Salvador was preserved by volcanic ash from 1,400 years ago, revealing insights into ancient Maya commoners' lives. Ceren villagers had autonomy in their daily activities, and excavations reveal evidence of communal decision-making and event hints at the presence of a community sauna. Dive into more of the archaeological finds on how businesses were run, how they prepared for disaster, and more.

The claims that Jesus was buried in the Shroud of Turin, preserved since 1578

The 14-foot linen cloth bears a faint image of a crucified man and is the most scientifically studied relic in history. The core dispute hasn't moved much: 1988 radiocarbon dating placed it in the 13th-14th century, while defenders argue the sample was contaminated by medieval repairs. No one disputes that scientists can't explain how the image was formed, which acts like a photographic negative and has no trace of paint or dye.

East Asian records of auroras may date back to 10,000 BCE

Ancient texts from Japan, Babylon, and China contain accounts of auroras dating back millennia. Because auroral activity and intensity are driven by periodic ebbs and flows in solar activity, these records allow scientists to identify patterns that may help anticipate particularly dangerous future solar storms.

Learn how your earwax may be determined by genetics—and geography

Researchers have discovered that wet and dry earwax are associated with specific gene variations. Wet earwax is particularly associated with warmer areas of Europe, Asia, and the Americas, suggesting that dry earwax may have been evolutionarily advantageous in cooler climates.

Ice cream can be traced back to a frozen milk dish from the 7th century.

Why are archaeologists brewing ancient beers?

Archaeologists have managed to brew beer from yeast found inside jugs abandoned thousands of years ago. This article explores why scientists are recreating these ancient beverages and what they hope to learn. People have been drinking beer for...

An Aztec skull whistle discovered in the 1990s was mistaken for a toy

In the late 1990s, archaeologists unearthed a sacrificed man clutching two skull-shaped clay whistles at a Mexico City temple to the wind god Ehecatl (eh-HEH-kahtl). Initially dismissed as toys, the instruments produce a scream-like sound that modern brain scans show triggers fear and urgency responses in listeners. This podcast explores the discovery.

Recreating ancient faces: where art meets archaeology

Artistic renderings and reconstructions of ancient people are one way to bring the past to life, providing viewers with insights into and empathy for those who came before. This article details how modern artists and archaeologists work together to...

The Paranthropus genus, our mysterious extinct cousins

In the last century, skull and jaw fragments have been discovered in East Africa suggesting an ancient hominin species lived, evolved, and died alongside humanity's ancestors. With large, broad skulls and strong jaws, the Paranthropus genus—which includes several related species—is an absorbing case of the effects of niche partitioning, where species coexist by adapting differently to the environment. Paranthropus died out and human ancestors endured. Find out why here.

The history of China: a timeline

How long has China existed, and how and when did it evolve into its form? Explore the journey of China from empire to republic (to a republic, again) in this timeline. Archaeological evidence suggests the earliest Chinese dynasty formed at about...

Santa Barbara's Channel Islands revealed the oldest skeletal remains in North America

IN 1959, archaeologists found a human femur jutting out from a rock face on Santa Rosa Island. Using the then-new technology of radiocarbon dating, they measured the age of the remains at 13,000 years—the oldest in the continent.

Archaeologists race to record ancient Nubia

Long ignored by white archaeologists as a mere footnote, modern scientists are now racing to document what’s left of the African civilization. Evidence of ancient Nubia is at risk of vanishing under environmental, societal, and political pressures. This Undark Magazine article walks you through archaeologists' fight to record ancient Nubia.

Fossils suggest tardigrades developed cryptobiosis more than 180 million years ago

As of 2024, three tardigrade fossils have been discovered, all preserved in amber. Analysis suggests different species of the organism existed over 500 million years ago, when marine heterotardigrades and freshwater terrestrial eutardigrades diverged. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

A deep dive into how a body decomposes

Dead bodies are, understandably, scary and unsettling. Learn about the fascinating process of decomposition that takes place in every human, and how its teeming with life.

Tardigrades can survive in a dehydrated state for decades

Despite being known as water bears, these microscopic creatures can shut down their metabolism when entering cryptobiosis, squeezing more than 95% of the water from their bodies. In this tun state, tardigrades can even survive the vacuum of space.